Sewing machine shuttle



w. H. KEELEIL v SEWING MAGEINE SHUTTLE.

No. 253,871. Patented Feb. 21,1882.

WITNESSES W 6 ATTORNEY INVEN'I'OR N. PETERS. r-nnro-Lkho n mr, wmhm nn,D. C.

NITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

WILLIAM H. KEELER, OF NORWALK, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO J. W. FOSTER, OF SAMEPLACE.

HIMSELF AND SEWING-MACHINE SHUTTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,871, dated February21, 1882.

Application filed March 9, 1881. (ModeL) I To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, WILLIAM HENRY KEEL- ER, of Norwalk, in the county ofHuron and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Sewing-Machine Shuttles and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be afull, clear, and exact description of theinvention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in se win g-machine shuttles, andis designed to provide a shuttle with new and i m proved threading andtension devices,whereby it may be easily and quickly threadedand haveits thread regulated to any desired tension.

\Vith these ends in view my invention consists in certain details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in perspective of ashuttle constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig.2 is an interiorView thereof, representing the shuttle as threaded. Fig. 3 is a view ofthe shuttle with the adjustable tension plate removed; and Fig. 4 is aview in vertical section of the heel, showing the devices for regulatingthe tension of the said tension-plate.

The arrangement I have invented to enable the shuttle to be readily andeasily threaded consists in a series of connected slots formed in theupper wall, A, of the shuttle, said slots being protected and concealedby the tension plate 0. The disposition of the slots is as follows: Avertical slot, a, formed near the point I) of the shuttle and close tothe fixed end of plate 0, opens into a slot, 0, extending diagonallyupward toward the edge of the shuttle, and leads to a short verticalslot or passage, d, which in turn opens into an elongated slot, e,parallel with the length of the shuttle, and extending under thediagonal slot cin such man ner that in connection with the short slot atit forms a shoulder, f, which holds the thread in place when feeding tothe needle. If de= sired, the two elongated slots 0 and e, whichcommunicate through passage or slot d, may be arranged to .be parallelwith each other.

In threading the shuttle the thread is slipped into the vertical slot atfrom the inside thereof, and after being passed under the upper edge ofthe forward end of the plate 0 it is carried toward the heel of theshuttle. This move-- E to receive the adjusting-screw F, which passesthrough the eye E, formed in the free end of the tension-plate O. Theforward end of saidplate is rigidly secured near the point of theshuttle, and has its lower edge flush with the edge of the upper wall,A, thereof. This plate is secured to the wall of the shuttle in suchmanner that only a point on its lower front edge is in contact with it.It is necessary that the upper edge of the forward end of the plate, andalso the rear end thereof, be free, inasmuch as the thread is fed fromthe bobbin under the front end of the plate, and as a space must existbetween the plate and shuttle-wall to obtain the leverage necessary tochange its tension.

The extreme end of the plate 0 is provided with an eye, E, adapted to bereceived in the counterbore E in the heel of the shuttle by bending theend of the plate in which the eye is formed at right angles to itself,and again bending the eye E at right angles with the bent portion andparallel with the body of the plate. By manipulating the screw F, whichpasses through the eye of the plate, as described, and is received inthe counterbore E, the relative proximity of the plate and shut tle-wallA may be varied as desired. By lessening the space between the shuttleand plate the tension of the thread will be increased; but by wideningthe distance between them the tension of the thread will be diminishedorentirelyrelieved. Bythesemeansextremely delicate tension adjustmentsare made possible, and by means requiring no especial skill to theirsuccessful management.

It is of course apparent that the form and arrangement of the slotsdescribed may be slightly varied, if desired, and also that they may beso placed that the shuttle may be threaded from the heel thereof,instead of from the point, as shown.

It is also obvious that the tension-plate can be reversed and arrangedto be manipulated by a screw sunk in or near the point of the shuttle;also, the tension-spring and threading slots may be advantageouslyapplied to cylinder-shuttles, if desired.

I would have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exactconstruction shown and described, but hold myself at liberty to makesuch slight changes and alterations as set forth.

2. The combination, with a shuttle provided with an open slot at itsupper edge and an elongated slot communicating with the open slot, of atension-plate arranged to cover the 30 elongated slot and-secured to theheel of the shuttle by a tension-adjusting screw, the forward end ofsaid tension-plate being located in rear of the open slot, substantiallyas set forth. 3 5

3. The combination,with a shuttle provided with theopeu slot a,elongated slots 0 e, and communicating passage d, of the tension-plateO, adjustably secured to the heel of the shuttle, said tension-platebeing arranged to cover 0 the slots 0 e and allow the thread to bereadily inserted in the open slot a, substantiallyas set forth.

In testimony that I claim have hereunto set my hand this 25th dayFebruary, 1881.

the foregoing I WILLIAM HENRY KEELER.

